Justice will be Served
by TheAmazingFireshadow
Summary: A one-shot regarding the events of the episode Ladybug. Major spoiler alert if you haven't seen it yet! I want to see Princess Justice, though...


**Author's Notes: Okay so I watched Ladybug the other day, and I can't even find the words. For anyone who didn't see the episode yet, or they're holding off so they don't see any spoilers… yeah, you might not want to read this, because this one-shot is entirely based off the events of that episode. This is just me avoiding my homework at all costs, so the quality may not be the greatest!**

Expelled? On what grounds? It was extremely unfair, and Marinette was finding out just how little discretion there was at Françoise Dupont. Now all her "friends" thought that she was a liar and a thief, including her parents _and _her crush, of all people! In the heat of it all, Marinette found that she was too numb to cry, so she shoved her way through the throng of students who would soak up the drama like a sponge and gossip about it for ages, and made for the locker room door.

She flung it open with resentment, not missing the way the wood was chipped on the sides or how it creaked when it opened, and instead focused on how to prove her innocence. Breathing deeply, Marinette saw red. Swarms of it. The same scarlet color shimmering, catching rays of sunlight and reflecting them back over and over. They didn't stop coming. _Akumas,_ she realized. _I need to transf-_

Whatever thought she had at that moment remained incomplete, and any negativity was replaced instantly with content apathy.

…

Marinette felt conscious all of a sudden, as if she was just waking up from a deep sleep, but that didn't explain why she was standing up. In the school locker room. Taking in her surroundings, she noted that the majority of the people present looked as confused as she. _White butterflies. Lila. Cheating, necklace, stairs, expelled. Oh. Right._ Marinette's shoulders sagged with the rather harsh realities she was facing that day, one after the other.

She had spent years with these teachers, people who knew how capable she was of getting good grades via studying, not cheating. _Never_ cheating. And yet because a couple sheets of paper had mysteriously weaseled their way into her school bag without a logical explanation, she was the one at fault here. Terrific.

Marinette was upset, and rightfully so, but no amount of "forgive and forget" would help her in this case, seeing as she was incapable of either. Instead she focused on her feet, moving one after the other across the footprinted floor of the school, a path she had walked - and run - many a time, managing to sneak into home room at the last possible second. Now it felt like she was walking towards her certain death.

Pushing Mme Bustier's door open with a sudden rush of finality, she let the scent of air freshener, coffee, and Lysol take over, though it did nothing to calm her nerves. A sudden pain grabbed her chest as she looked nostalgically at the empty desks, similar to the feeling she got at the end of the year when she had to leave her friends for the summer, but this time was different. It felt definite, and the thought left a hole in her heart and tears in her eyes.

Her school bag suddenly felt a million times heavier despite the fact that there wasn't much of anything inside. She turned, met with the eyes of people she called friends, now all darkened with a mixture of concern and relief. Marinette wanted to curl up in a ball and cry until she couldn't remember why she was crying, but she stood up a bit straighter, not wanting to give Lila the satisfaction. She wasn't going down without a fight.

"Are you quite finished, Mlle Dupain-Cheng?" M. Damocles' asked impatiently, obviously wanting to get on with his day.

"Yeah, just…" she trailed off, mumbling the rest quietly. "Few things in my locker and stuff."

M. Damocles tapped an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Hurry along. We haven't got all day."

"Okay. I'm going to go to the bathroom, then I'll stop bothering you." Her voice, still not reaching anything above a whisper, picked that moment to stop working, and it probably had something to do with the fact that her vision was getting blurry. She practically sprinted into the girls' room, knowing full well it could be the last time.

…

"Nathalie, don't exert yourself too much. You'll only make matters worse." Gabriel cautioned, trying to keep his tone gentle as he set a glass of water down on the table in his atelier.

"I'm alright, Gabriel," she protested weakly, releasing a cough that dislodged her glasses. "Really, I want to help you."

Carefully sliding the glasses back into position, Gabriel tightened his hand into a fist. "No. I won't allow it. I should never have let you use the Miraculous in the first place. I don't need Scarlet Moth anyway. There's only one person in need of an Akuma."

"Gabriel-"

He hastily unpinned the damaged brooch from Nathalie's turtleneck, slipping it into a shirt pocket. "I won't discuss it any further. You are not to use the Miraculous again, understand? Get some rest."

…

"Marinette, try to calm down a little. I know you must be feeling awful right now, but you mustn't get Akumatized! You already almost did, and I don't want that to happen again. Hawk Moth would get his hands on your Miraculous, and-"

"Then why don't you take it?" Marinette spat, head in her hands as she slumped over in the confines of a bathroom stall.

Tikki paused for a moment and smiled, carefully picking her words. "I can't do that. You are _Ladybug, _Marinette. You were chosen for a reason! If Master Fu didn't think you could handle anything thrown your way, he wouldn't have given you such a big responsibility."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Tikki," Marinette protested. "Not even Master Fu is perfect. I'm not the right one for this job, and that's pretty obvious. I can't even stand up for myself, much less an entire city!"

"I think you're wrong. You've been a wonderful Ladybug for this past year, and Paris loves you - not to mention Chat Noir."

"No, Tikki. I can't do it. I _can't._ Hawk Moth hasn't managed to beat me yet, but Lila has, and she doesn't even have a Miraculous. She's lied and manipulated her way out of every possible situation, and she's always so well prepared for any outcome. Lila is the real villain here!" Marinette's voice echoed back to her in the poor acoustics of the bathroom, sounding as broken as she felt.

Tikki sighed, hovering lower to look Marinette in the face. "You may just be right about that, but no villain has managed to beat the amazing Ladybug yet! Lila won't either. You always come up with a good plan, and this time won't be any different."

"It won't do any good, you know. Nothing works. I've tried everything. Please, Tikki. I can't do this right now." Marinette closed her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest, a single tear dripping down her cheek to land on her jeans.

"You haven't tried everything. I'm sure there's a solution. Maybe you just have to look a little harder for it. Most of all, though, you need to stay positive. Ladybug should know better than anyone that negative emotions don't solve problems." Tikki looked around nervously, sure that an Akuma would come into her sight pretty soon. She had never seen her chosen so upset before.

Marinette drew in a shuddering breath, tears pouring out of her eyes as she gasped for air. "If I'm such a danger right now," she said in a hollow, empty voice. "then take the earrings. Take them far away, and come back once this all blows over."

"Marinette, no-" The Kwami began, zipping over to her chosen as if there was something she could do. To her horror, but not her surprise, Marinette sat up and began to remove the Miraculous earrings.

"Take them." It was somewhere between a plea and a command, and Tikki couldn't decide which, but she didn't have time to contemplate it as the burgundy studs were thrust into her tiny arms. "I'm easier to replace than an entire city."

Standing on shaky legs, Marinette couldn't get out of the building fast enough, ignoring Alya, Adrien, and a few others who called her name, thinking it would somehow prevent her from leaving. She ran down the stairs two at a time, for once not stumbling at all. Succumbing to the intense feeling of nothing in particular (though whatever it was, it was bad), she shoved the heavy double doors at the entrance to the school open, greeted by the gorgeous autumn weather, the idle chatter, and the car engines.

It was an otherwise normal day, and Marinette suddenly despised that. Taking one look in the direction of the bakery, she shook her head, running in the opposite direction, leaving behind her friends, her parents, her Kwami, everything. It was a rash decision, and perhaps unfair to people who cared about her - whoever that was, but she hadn't been treated with any more kindness and courtesy. She wasn't to blame for any of this mess. It wasn't fair.

…

Chaos was kind of fun, in a twisted sort of way. It broke up the monotony of an otherwise uneventful day, Gabriel decided, save for his assistant falling ill. He refused to watch it happen to her, too. He wouldn't let it happen again. Never again.

His lair felt eerily quiet, and Gabriel reluctantly admitted that he missed having Nathalie fight with him, but that was selfish. The only sound in the room was the steady flitting of wings, pure and white as fresh snow. He didn't like it one bit.

A sudden surge of emotion, as sudden and intense as a heart attack, lit up the purple brooch on his chest. It was exactly the distraction he needed. Donning his villainous - albeit fashionable - costume, Gabriel summoned one of the butterflies into his outstretched hand, tainting it with a rush of magic.

"Is that injustice I sense? There's nothing worse than feeling lost and helpless, like there's nothing to do but stand by and watch. Well, no more sitting on the sidelines for you, young lady! It's time to act. Fly away, my little Akuma, and be the ally this girl is so desperately awaiting."

...

Marinette couldn't run away, but she had no intention of staying either. It felt like her feet were stuck in quicksand. She couldn't escape it, and sooner or later, it would become a bigger problem. Looking down at her empty purse, her heart ached with regret and despair as more tears threatened to fall. She sank to her knees, wondering how so much could go so wrong so quickly.

Yes, Marinette was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the purple butterfly that deemed her purse an acceptable place to dwell. The same rush of feeling nothing and everything washed over her again, and the only thing on her mind was the voice of a new ally.

"Princess Justice, I am Hawk Moth. You have been unfairly accused and thrown to the side by the people you once called your friends, but I can help you give them what they deserve. All I ask in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous jewels."

Marinette instantly felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders and a maniacal smile slid onto her lips. "Justice will be served, Hawk Moth."


End file.
